Princess Anne

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Two university students have claimed they were "assaulted" by staff and detained for nearly six hours by police ahead of a visit by the Princess Royal.

Hona-Luisa Cohen-Fuentes and Euan Kidston claimed they were studying in the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday when they were "roughly seized" by staff and told: "We have someone really important coming here, we can't have the likes of you roaming around."

The incident occurred in Old College, Edinburgh University. Credit: PA

The students allege they were then prevented from leaving by staff who said they "could be any random scum off the street".

University chiefs say the students "could not provide a satisfactory explanation" for their presence in a restricted area, which was being prepared for Anne's visit.

Princess Anne carried out a series of engagements on Tuesday as chancellor of the university. Credit: PA

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "During a security check at an Edinburgh University venue two people were found within a restricted area and were subsequently detained. They were later released without charge."

Actors dressed in the furs that Scott and his team would have worn Credit: Plymouth University/PA Wire

Members of the re-enactment group Antarctic Adventurers may well have been wishing that Princess Anne had chosen a different day to visit.

As temperatures soared across the UK, the Princess Royal joined descendants of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team for a ceremony marking the centenary of their doomed expedition to the Antarctic, at the National Scott Memorial in Plymouth.